New head of Algerian constitutional council named

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Interim President Abdelkader Bensalah appointed a new head of Algeria's Constitutional Council late Tuesday after the former chief quit under pressure from protesters. A statement from the presidency said Kamel Feniche would be the new council president, replacing Tayeb Belaiz, who the state news agency APS earlier reported had submitted his resignation to Bensalah. Feniche, a magistrate, has been a member of the council since 2016.

Students carry banners and chant slogans during a demonstration in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, April 16, 2019. President of the Algerian Constitutional Council Tayeb Belaiz resigned on Tuesday amid mass protests in the country demanding for his departure. "Belaiz notified the members of the Constitutional Council, during a meeting held Tuesday, that he presented his resignation to the interim president Abdelkader Bensalah," the council said in a statement.

April 16, 2019

Belaiz is one of three figures in the interim government whose removal has been demanded by pro-democracy protesters. They are seen as part of the discredited regime of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who resigned April 2 after six weeks of nationwide demonstrations calling for an end to his two-decade rule.

Belaiz's departure could help calm protesters by clearing the way for someone considered more independent. Also Tuesday, the military chief called on Algerians to show "patience" during the political transition ahead.

A presidential election has been set for July 4 to choose the successor to Bouteflika, who stepped down under pressure from the military's chief of staff, Gen. Ahmed Gaid Salah.